Tbilisi hosts 1st General Assembly of Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform
Today, it is very important for people of Azerbaijan
and Armenia, apart from the leaderships of the two countries, to join their efforts
to accelerate the early settlement of the long standing Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. In this connection, the First General Assembly of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform was held in Tbilisi on October 30.
During the Assembly, its participants appealed to the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
The issue on the agenda was the establishment of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform on the basis of the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Peace Platform and adoption of its Charter.
Based on the Charter, the decisions were made
regarding the number of the members of the Steering Committee and the Central
Control-Inspection Commission of the Civil Peace Platform, as well as their
representation principles and members.
The Congress decided to create the Steering Committee
of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform from the representatives of the
OSCE Minsk Group states mediating in the peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between the two countries.
Thus, the proportion of members of the Steering Committee
consisting of 19 members is determined as follows: five from Azerbaijan and
Armenia each and nine from each of the other Minsk Group participating
countries.
Steering Committee of the
Armenia Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platfrom:
Armenian representatives:
Rafael Isakhanyan - An economist. Joined to Armenia-Azerbaijan
Peace Platform in 2017
Oksana Altunian - Civil activist. On June 5, 2017, she
joined the "Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Platform"
Erick Khachaturov - An entrpreneur. Joined to
Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Platform in 2016
Arthur Agajanov - Historical researcher, Scientist.
Joined to Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Platform in 2016
Rimma Sarkisova - Civil activist. Joined to Armenia-
Azerbaijan Peace Platform in 2017
Azerbaijani representatives:
Rovshan Rzayev - Member of the board of the Azerbaijani
community of Nagorno-Karabakh
Rizvan Huseynov - The Azerbaijani scientist,
historian, Associate professor of UNESCO.
Kamil Salimov - Doctor of Law. Professor of Baku State
University and Head of the “Forensices
and Judicial Expertise” Department. Expert on the International law.
Novella Jafaroglu - Human rights defender. Gender and
peace expert. Chairman of the Society for the Protection of Women's Rights named
after Dilara Aliyeva
Umud Mirzayev - President of the International Eurasia
Press Fund.
Representatives of the OSCE
Minsk Group countries:
Juan Carlos Mendez - Bishop of the California Bethel
christian centre (USA)
Evgeny Mikhaylov - Politologist, Head of the South Russia
Inforamtion Agency (Russia)
Domenico Letizia - The author of the political
ana;ysis section of the l’Opinione magazine (İtalia)
Matthias Dornfeldt - Chairman of the European
Institute for Caucasian and Caspian Studies Berlin (Germany)
Sergey Simanovsky - Professor of the Belarus State
University, doctor of philosophy (Belarus)
Selin Shenocak - Politoloq, chairwoman of the UNESCO
Cultural Diplomacy, director of the Strategic Studies Centre (Turkey)
Jaakko Laakso - MP (1991-2011). Member of the PACE (1991-2003,
2007-2011) (Finland)
Pierre de Trégomain - Doctor of historical sciences,
Sorbonne University (France)
Goran Lindbal - Member of the Moderate party, MP of
Sweden in 1997-2010, Head of Swedish Delegation to PACE (2004-2010). He was the
PACE Vice President for Political Affairs (Sweden)
At the end, the Final Decision and Statement of the
General Assembly were adopted. The Assembly decided to open offices of the
Platform in Tbilisi, Yerevan and Baku and hold public meetings in Azerbaijan
and Armenia.
After the General Assembly was closed, the new
Steering Committee held its first meeting.
At the meeting, in accordance with the Charter of the
Platform, the co-chairing institute was established and Rovshan Rzayev from
Azerbaijan and Rafael Isakhanyan from Armenia were elected as the co-chairs of
the Steering Committee for one year.
Then the Steering Committee presented for discussions
a list of the Experts Council of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform.
Following the voting, the Expert Council consisting of 29 people was approved.
The decisive process of bringing together the people
of Azerbaijan and Armenia on boosting the settlement of the conflict started in
December 2016, when the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Platform was founded in Baku
by a group of Azerbaijani and Armenian public figures and peacekeepers. It was
created to bring together representatives of civil society of the two countries
for creating dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the sides to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
However, this initiative was negatively perceived by
the Armenian government, which started persecution of those Armenians who joined
the Platform.
Despite this, many people from both Azerbaijan and
Armenia and other countries continue to join the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace
Platform, created to accelerate the process of peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the people's diplomacy, and this initiative,
of course, should be continued, in order to bring the desired peace to the
region.
The I General Assembly of the "Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace
Platform", taking into account the statements and suggestions of Armenian
and Azerbaijani civil society representatives, experts from the OSCE Minsk Group member states, directed at the
peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, strengthening peace and mutual trust
between the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan, decides on the following:
Founding
The Peace Platform, established in December 2016, is
the initiative of the citizens of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the civic
institutions they represent, who want to contribute to the peaceful settlement
of the conflict. This is the voice of simple Armenian and Azerbaijani people
who, after the April clashes, started to better understand the reactionary,
anti-humanistic essence of the war and who have been condemned to experience
the bloody horrors of the war in their own homes and to understand the eternal
inevitability of peace. These people realize that even though they do not have
the power to solve the conflict immediately, the steps to restore the close
neighborliness, peace-building and cooperation traditions between the Armenian
and Azerbaijani peoples is also an important step. Over the past years, the
Peace Platform has fulfilled its commitments by starting preparations for the
dialogue. The Platform was joined by prominent people from both countries, war
resisters living in different countries around the world and trying to resolve
this conflict. These self-sacrificing people have faced many different threats
and pressures. Someone did not endure this pressure and left this noble mission
halfway. But the vast majority did not hesitate even for a moment and stayed on
the path for the restoration of peace between the two nations.
To raise the effectiveness of peace initiatives, there
was a need for expansion and reorganization of the Platform. That is why we are
taking concrete steps on October 30, in Tbilisi to make the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Civil Peace Platform a flexible organization. The direct support of the OSCE
Minsk Group’s co-chairs who work on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is very remarkable and encouraging. The establishment of a more
effective form of the organization, the adoption of the new Charter, the
election of the Steering Committee, the Control-Inspection Commission, the
Experts Council and the establishment of the co-ordinating institute,
representing all the countries participating in the Minsk Group along with the
Armenians and Azerbaijanis, are essential for enhancing the Platform's strength
and effectiveness. Undoubtedly, the organization will provide its practical
support to the civil society in the Minsk Group’s mediation mission. This
increases hopes for achieving real results as a new stage in the difficult
peacebuilding process.
Conduction of the first General Assembly of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform in the beautiful Tbilisi city which is
remarkable for geographical and spiritual closeness to both countries, where the
national independence flags of these states were raised a hundred years ago,
embodies the symbolical meaning of new activities.
In order to bring peace calls to real results, the
organization considers it essential that the peacekeepers in both countries act
in a unified position. Based on the traditions of historical neighborhood
between the two nations, the organization sees all the friends and supporters
of these countries in the international arena as its partners. To this end, it
calls on the spiritual leaders of the millions of people, who bring peace and
mercy to the world – the Supreme Religious Leader of the Caucasus Muslims –
Allahshukur Pashazade and to the Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II, to
call to live together in peace and harmony and closely co-operate. Besides
that, the Armenian-Azerbaijani Civil Peace Platform calls on the Armenian and
Azerbaijani diaspora organizations to give new impetus to their activity and
peace initiatives. Because every day that hinders the peace in the conflict
zone, as well as the intense continuation of the sounds of gunshots on the
contact line of the troops become the reason of the death of soldiers, as well
as the death of peaceful population at the nearby areas and the settlements. Among them there are innocent babies, women
and older people. Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples have no right to ignore this
brutality for decades.
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